Special Interest Housing

If you have decided that RIT is the place for you at this point, one of the next things you are looking at is, without a doubt, housing options for your freshman year. Whether it is picking a roommate, what building you want to live in, or if you want a double, triple, or quad, the choices are out there. One possibility to consider is if you are interested in Special Interest Housing.

In addition to the regular freshman housing options, Special Interest Housing is one of the more unique aspects of the university that makes RIT stand out in its own ground. These houses are designed for students who want to live around others that share common interests. To give you some basic information, here are some standard statistics about this opportunity:

There are 7 Special Interest Houses: Art, Computer Science, Engineering, General Science, International, Photo, and Unity.

These self-governing organizations do have a resident advisor (RA) live on the floor, usually a member of the house.

Applications are received, with a May 1st deadline, on an initial written process to the house itself, and are not just a first-come, first-serve basis.

Selecting new members is the decision of the current members, with assistance from Residence Life and Housing Operations. With there sometimes being high demand, some members are off-floor.

There are membership dues, ranging from $45 - $105 per year to provide support for house activities.

When I was a freshman, I applied and was chosen to live on Photo House. Although I am a Packaging Science student, I do have a love for photography and I wanted to interact with others who did as an opportunity to spend time with people outside my major. Throughout the year I had some great experiences with members on the floor and off, whether it was just going out to dinner at Jay’s Diner, or heading out to take some photos or to help with other people’s shoots. Even after joining a fraternity during the year, I still did my best to participate in the life of the floor, and at one point, I even was on the executive board as fundraising chair. Although my days with the house have been over for a while, I still have a few friends that I have maintained contact with, most of who I likely would not have met without living on the floor. I had a good experience, and being in a special interest house is something to consider for any of you.